In search of secrets
by arabesque82
Summary: Set after 2x13: Felicity tried to be happy about the new addition to Team Arrow, but she wasn't fooling anyone. When Oliver ignores her concerns about Sebastian Blood, writing off her worries as jealousy over Sara - she goes to the one person that understands. Felicity and Laurel work together to prove Blood is a fraud, but when they dig deeper they learn he's not working alone.
1. Chapter 1

It had been an interesting couple of weeks to say the least. She was so used to it being just the three of them in the foundry, that the addition on Roy and Sara was a little overwhelming. She liked to think this was just because the space she felt most at home in was getting crowded, but in all honesty, she knew it was much more than that. She knew that eventually Oliver would have a relationship with someone; she accepted this and secretly hoped it'd never be Isabel. On one hand you can say she got her wish, Oliver and Isabel were not dating, hell, they barely spoke to each other. However, the alternative was worse, because regardless of who Oliver was with she knew that down here, in the foundry, she wouldn't have to deal with it. She always assumed that she'd be able to avoid his love life, because he would also keep his alter ego a secret.

By her calculation it took two days for Sara and Oliver to fall back into old habits, three days before she and Dig found out, and four day before the Lances were told. She couldn't even imagine what Laurel was feeling when she found out, she thought it was a mistake on both Oliver's and Sara's part to rekindle things. Were neither of them thinking of Laurel, the woman Oliver said time and time again that he loved, or the sister Sara came back to protect? Yes, she was jealous, she was woman enough to admit that to herself, but this wasn't about her.

She could put aside her own selfish reason for not liking their relationship and see the bigger picture… this was wrong. She felt she did a good job at hiding her dislike of Oliver's relationship, but she knew he picked up on it at times. Sara pretty much stayed out of her way and the few times she crossed the line by questioning Felicity's skills, she set her straight quickly. She didn't allow Oliver or Diggle question her job, she wouldn't allow Sara to. The beeping of her computer pulled her form her thoughts. I had been a pretty slow week for the Arrow, it seemed Starling city was calm for the moment. Expecting to see something from Iron Heights, she was surprised when the alert was from Sebastian Blood's campaign account. It seemed there was another wire transfer for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, from the same bank. When the first one happened Oliver said it was normal, when the second one came through, Oliver said campaigns were expensive and it wasn't illegal. So felicity did her research and that amount of money from a single donor was not allowed, Oliver brushed it off, said he's seen people do worse. But this was the third wire transfer from the same account, almost half a million dollars. How would put that kind of money up for Blood to just be mayor?

Tracking the money to its source all she got was a company called Wintergreen. Further investigation came up flat, the company had no assets.

"Oliver," she called out, hoping he'd hear her over the noise of their training.

She felt him approach her from behind, "what's up? Did you get something for us to do besides patrolling?"

Turning in her chair to look at him, "yeah, I got another hit on Blood's account. It seems like the money is coming from a shell corporation, he's almost at half a million from the same donor." She told him, believing this would be enough for further investigation.

Oliver let out a sigh, they'd been over this a couple time already. He didn't understand her need to undermine Blood. So the guy had one big benefactor, big deal, he knew Starling's rich weren't lining up to donate to his campaign. "Felicity, I understand what he's doing is wrong, but I'm not going to attack the guy for doing what he needs to do to help save this city."

Felicity couldn't believe her ears, was he so blinded by his friendship with the guy he couldn't see that something wasn't right. "Oliver, half a million dollars in one month, come on. It's not just the amount, it's the fact that the money gets moved immediately and I can't track it. There is something really weird going on, I think Laurel was right, I think Blood is dirty."

There it was Oliver thought, Laurel. It was the first time Felicity mentioned his ex but he wasn't surprised. He knew that his relationship with Sara bothered her and it was probably more than just for Laurel's sake.

Grabbing her arm and pulling her aside so they wouldn't be overheard. "Felicity, I know things have been hard on you, and I know I should have taken your feelings into consideration before starting things with Sara. You're my rock, you're one of the most important people in my life and I don't want you to be uncomfortable. Sara and I have noticed that you've been a little closed off lately, I never wanted to hurt you. If things were different… if things were better, I'd do everything in power to prove I was good enough for you. But as things are, it's too dangerous. Sara, she can take care of herself-"

The heat that spread throughout Felicity's body and up to her face was not embarrassment, or elation at the fact that Oliver would want her under different circumstances. No, the heat she felt was pure rage. "Let me stop you right there," Felicity interrupted, "this has nothing to do with you, it has nothing to do with Sara. This is about Sebastian Blood and nothing else. Since you and Sara seem to think that you know what runs through my head, let me enlighten you. I don't like your relationship, at all. A couple of weeks ago you were worried about Laurel, who was the love of your life. The same Laurel that went to the hospital because she was drugged, but everyone assumed she over dosed. The same person that you, Sara, and Detective Lance have been trying to help, and your idea of helping her is dating the sister you cheated on her with, the sister she thought was dead. So no, Oliver, I don't like your relationship. I don't like the person that disregards all of that because he's lonely. That's not the man I know, that's not the man I care for. So excuse me for being disappointed in you, I'm human, I feel things like empathy, something neither of you seem to get. As for my feelings for you, please, get over yourself. The fact that you have reduced me to a lovesick woman who wants your attention because I have a small crush on you is insulting."

"I didn't mean to - "

"I'm not finished. You said that you were done having blind spots for people but Sebastian Blood is one of them."

Oliver rubbed his hand over his face, "I really didn't mean to upset you, or insult you. I respect everything you do here, Felicity. I'm sorry, sometimes I don't think before speaking."

"I'm going home for the evening; I want to be left alone. If some big bad comes along, I'm sure you four can handle it since all of you can take care of yourselves. I'm going to take my helpless self home and relax, for once."

"I didn't mean it like that - "

"I don't really want to hear it, Oliver." Felicity went back to her desk, grabbed her hand bag and tablet, and walked out before he could say another word. Getting into her car she knew that Oliver would never buy that Blood was dirty without more evidence, so she'd go to the one person who would believe her.

* * *

Oliver wanted to run after Felicity and apologize. He didn't even know why half of the things he said came out of his mouth. Felicity was always the one who believed in him, watching the disappointment wash over her face killed him. He didn't want to push her away, he didn't know why he said she couldn't take care of herself. She wasn't a fighter like Sara but she was stronger than anyone he knew.

"Hey, where did Felicity go?" Diggle asked, walking up to Oliver.

"We got into an argument over Sebastian Blood, she thinks he's up to something."

"And you think she's wrong," he stated, crossing his arms. "Have you allowed yourself to think that she may be right?"

"I thought you were convinced he was clean when Laurel was investigating him," he challenged.

Diggle let out a chuckle, "I've been known to be wrong before, Oliver. We all have."

Oliver wondered what Diggle thought about his relationship with Sara, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Everything okay," Sara asked, joining the two.

Pursing his lips, "I'll let your boyfriend enlighten you," he said before walking away.

Turning to Sara, "Felicity and I had a disagreement and she went home."

"I'm sorry, Ollie. I know seeing us together must be hard on her," she said, rubbing his back. "Maybe it'd be better for her to spend less time here… I mean the girl barely has a life away from you, maybe if she did it'd be easier for her to move on."

Stepping away from Sara, "I need Felicity here. We can't do what we do without her and if she decides that this," gesturing to the two of them with his hand, "is too much for her then we won't work." He said, trying to gauge her reaction.

Sara couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What? Are you seriously telling me that if she tells you she doesn't want us to be together, that we're done? You're going to let someone else tell you how to live your life?"

Oliver thought of what the alternative would be, and he didn't like it, but he also knew it'd never happen. "Relax, she told me she didn't care if we were together. She got upset because I refused to investigate Blood."

"Then why would you say that?"

"Because you were trying to manipulate me into pushing her away, and I'm letting you know it won't happen."

Sara watched him walk away. She couldn't believe he accused her of trying to get him to push Felicity away, she was just trying to help.

* * *

Felicity stood in front of the door, number 305. She hesitated, she didn't really know how her visit would be taken. Laurel didn't really know her and she probably thought the same thing everyone at QC did, that she slept her way to the top. She could go to Lance first, she told herself. Laurel may not even be in the condition to help her, what if all this did was send her further over the top.

But what if they were right and Sebastian was dirty, there was still a chance to expose him. Oliver wasn't willing to help her, Lance didn't believe his own daughter, this was her only choice.

She took a deep breath a knocked, hoping Laurel would answer.

The door swung open almost immediately, a pajama clad Laurel stared at her awkwardly.

"Let me guess," Laurel began to say, "Ollie was worried, but he's too busy with my sister to check on me himself so he sent his little secretary instead."

Felicity could tell that Laurel had been drinking, how much she had no idea. "Hi Laurel, I was would like to talk you about something." She said hoping the woman would invite her in and make things easy.

"Look, tell Ollie that I'm fine and to enjoy his time with Sara. I got all I need right here," she said pulling a bottle of wine she must have been holding behind the door.

"Oliver didn't send me, I'm sorry. I'm here because I need your help," she hoped Laurel wouldn't turn her away. She also hoped she wasn't too far gone and some coffee would sober her up.

Laurel laughed, someone need her help, yeah right. "Well, what can I do for you?"

"I believe you were right about Blood, he's up to something. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone to go to that would believe me, except for you."

Laurel stopped for a moment, she knew there was something wrong with Sebastian. Even after the unmasked her kidnapper, she wasn't convinced. Her gut told her she was right but she wasn't in a position where anyone would help her. She looked at the pretty blonde standing in front of her, clutching a laptop to her chest and she felt a little vindicated. Someone believed her, she wasn't crazy.

She opened the door so Felicity could walk through, "come in."

* * *

I told myself this would be a short drabble but it looks like it'll be a short multi-chapter. I had to get this out, I love the idea of Felicity and Laurel teaming up – two strong women, who are mistreated by the writers.

So I have many opinions about the last Arrow episode but this isn't the place to share them. I will say I was so disappointed in Sara and Oliver, both of them regressed as characters for me. It's not the sex that bugged me and it had nothing to do with Felicity because she and Oliver, so far, have only been friends. It was their mutual betrayal of Laurel, someone they both know is struggling, whose life has fallen apart. I really expected more from both of them; so needless to say, I'm pissed at the writers. Also, I love Olicity but I am a Laurel fan and have hated her treatment.

This will probably be an Olicity fic, but it will be mostly Laurel & Felicity working together.


	2. Chapter 2

Felicity looked around the apartment, she was sure it was lovely when it wasn't being used as a trash bin. There was clothing everywhere, empty bottles of wine, empty take out containers, and what looked to be the contents of Laurels handbag on the floor. She watched as the woman led her over to the living room, pushing everything off the couch and onto the rug.

Laurel turned and looked at her expectedly, "have a seat," she said.

Felicity gave her a tentative smile and sat down; she placed her laptop down on the coffee table and waited for Laurel to be seated.

Laurel wasn't sure what to make of Felicity, she didn't know much about her. Well, besides the obvious, she was Oliver's assistant, and she was blonde and pretty. She wondered if Felicity told Oliver about her suspicions and if he brushed her off in the same way. She took the seat next to her, leaving a cushion between them.

"Look, Felicity, I've been down this road before and I came out on the losing end. Do you have something definitive that proves Sebastian is dirty?" She asked, not wanting to get her hopes up. Ever since she went up against Blood her life unraveled, she wasn't willing to take another shot at him empty handed.

Felicity opened her laptop and pulled the bank records, she knew it was risky showing Laurel this information. There would be no way to hide the fact that she had hacked into Starling National Bank, but she was willing to take the risk.

"This is the account set up for Blood's mayoral campaign. Now, I know it doesn't look like much and most of the transactions are normal, except for these." She Told Laurel, pulling up another screen showing wire transfers.

"These three transfers are from a corporation named Wintergreen, there have been three donations from this same company this month." She told her pointing to the deposits on the screen.

"That doesn't really mean anything. Plenty of politicians break campaign donation rules. No one will take him to court over that."

Felicity let out a small sigh, she hated when people under estimated her intelligence. "You didn't let me finish. Wintergreen Corp has no assets or operations, and from what I can tell it's not a pump and dump scam. The Company has very little in liquid assets, the only times it's had a reasonable amount of money has been right before the wire transfers to Blood's campaign. Also, I can't track where the money is coming from, I can't follow it beyond Wintergreen, and after it's removed from Blood's account it disappears. On top that all three deposit were for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. As of right now Wintergreen has donated four hundred fifty thousand dollars to Bloods campaign, but none of it has been used for anything having to do with his mayoral run." Felicity explained, hoping it would be enough to peak her interest.

"How can we be sure this is Blood's doing? What if his campaign treasurer has been moving this money for his own personal gain, while setting up Blood." Laurel asked, trying to find any argument they could be faced with. "Don't get me wrong, I still believe in my gut that Blood is up to no good, but I have to try and think as a lawyer. I can't risk doing this again, especially before my disbarment hearing."

"I already thought of that and looked into it. His treasurer, Michael Williams, has one bank account, from what I can tell he makes very little money and working for Blood isn't doing him any favors. Also, he is not allowed to allocate funds or move money, he's treasurer in name only. Starling National Bank requires authorization from Blood before any transaction, only an officer at the bank with a special code can do so."

Laurel thought about what Felicity just told her. Yes, this was enough and if the information was maintained legally they could go to the D.A. However, without any legally obtained evidence there was nothing they could do.

"There's one big problem here," Laurel began, "this information is no good. Yes, we can prove Blood is a dirty politician but we can't present this evidence to anyone. I don't know how you got your hands on all of that documentation, and I don't want to." The desire to take down Blood was there, but she knew following this lead would only hurt her career more.

Felicity figured Laurel would have an issue with her hacking, but she didn't care. She didn't come to Laurel because she wanted to take this to a lawyer, she was well aware she couldn't. Going to authorities would only guarantee her arrest.

"Here's the thing… I don't think Blood is just a dirty politician, and neither do you. There is something going on, something more than politics. I know about the information you uncovered about Blood, I know he killed his father, and I know he was connected to Cyrus Gold."

She was right, Laurel knew there was something more beneath the surface, and she wanted to be the one to uncover it. She wanted to be vindicated after everyone doubted her, but she was scared. She wondered if Felicity told the vigilante about her concerns. Her father had let it slip that Felicity worked with him, when she asked him to contact him to help her take down Blood, he said he'd give Felicity a call. It wasn't until much later that she put two and two together. Felicity who was Oliver's assistant or friend, she wasn't sure which one it was, also was connected to the vigilante.

"Why didn't he help you?" She asked, needing to know if his rejection was personal.

She thought about pretending not to know who Laurel meant, but she didn't want to lie. "He believes Blood is innocent. He was so eager to find the man behind the mask that he didn't stop to think more than one person could wear it. He doesn't know I'm here, he doesn't know I'm still looking into it. She admitted, before asking, "How did you know?"

"My dad let it slip," she told her, knowing she was throwing her father under the bus but not caring.

"Right… I should've figured that." For some reason Felicity wasn't worried that Laurel knew about her night job. There wasn't much Laurel could do about it without incriminating herself and her dad.

Laurel scanned the room for the bottle she had earlier. She knew she should stop, that her life would continue on its downward spiral if she didn't, but she was past that point.

"Where does this lead? I mean, we know he's up to something but we don't have the first clue of what."

"That's not entirely true. The man we were searching for, the one behind the mask… he's been experimenting on people. All the dead bodies with bloody eyes, they've all been injected with a serum. It's dangerous and only a couple of people have survived it, the survivors display a super-human like strength."

Laurel remembered visiting her father in the hospital, telling him his partner and friend had been killed. Cyrus Gold, he was the one responsible. She remembered her dad saying that he he'd never seen someone so strong, almost Hulk like.

"It was Cyrus Gold wasn't it? He was the survivor," she surmised.

"He's dead now, but yes, it was him. That's why I'm here Laurel, all the signs point to Blood."

"I want to do it; I want to help you..." Laurel began saying, trying to control her emotions. She didn't want to have a break down in front of Felicity, someone she barely knew. "But I don't know if I can, I don't know if I can handle it." She admitted, ashamed that she allowed that doubt to slip past her lips.

Felicity gave her a small smile, "I'm not going to pretend to know what you're going through, but if you really want to move forward then I think you can find a way to do it. You just have to want it bad enough."

"It's hard, the entire time you've been here I've been craving a drink. I never thought this would be my life, I never thought I'd be so alone." Laurel had no idea where any of this was coming from, but she was tired. She was exhausted physically and mentally, she just wanted someone to care.

Felicity wasn't blind, she noticed that Laurel's current condition made Oliver and Sara uncomfortable. Maybe their time on the island made it harder for them to empathize, she would never know, but she saw someone who not only needed help but who wanted it.

The truth was that she wasn't sure she could do this alone, sure she could handle a computer, and hack just about anything. But this was more than just using a computer - this would involve actual leg work on her part.

"Well, I'm not going to push you into doing something you're not comfortable with. But think about it this way, maybe you need it. Maybe having something to do besides sitting here in your apartment, alone, and wallowing will be good for you. I know that I don't know you, and you shouldn't care what I think, but from what I've been told by your dad and Oliver… it's obvious that this person isn't you. I think you just need to find her again, and if you want, I'll help you."

Laurel wasn't ready to trust her just yet; she couldn't understand why Felicity would bother to help her.

"Why do you even care? I thought you and Oliver were a thing, is it because he's with Sara again, are you trying to get back at him?"

"Despite what everyone seems to think, Oliver and I have always just been friends. That's it, friends, nothing more."

"Well I'm impressed Ollie was able to be friends with a woman, but I doubt that's all there is. Maybe that's all there has been so far, but who knows, things have a way of changing. Word of advice, if you have a sister or any female friends… just keep them away."

"I doubt anything will be changing, but I'll keep that in mind. Now, why don't you shower and if you don't mind I'll start cleaning up. I know I'm still a stranger to you, but I can't work in such a mess. Also, I think we should throw away any alcohol you haven't gotten to, as much as it pains me to throw away wine, it's probably the best course of action."

This was her chance, Laurel thought. She could decline to help Felicity and go back to lying on her couch, while her life tumbled down around her, or she could try to move forward. She knew what course to take, she just never imagine it'd be with a stranger. A part of her thought that Ollie, Sara, even her dad would fight a little harder for her. It was obvious now, no one was going to. She had to fight for herself.

* * *

Things in the foundry had been tense between Sara and Oliver. He knew he went too far when he said he'd end things with her to keep Felicity on the team, but he needed to see her react. The truth was he cared for Sara, and while a part of him knew that what they were doing was wrong, the two of them made sense. It was easy to be around her, she never wanted him to rehash anything from the Island after he thought she died, and he never asked about her time with the League. They had an uneasy understanding that there were parts of their lives that would always remain a mystery.

Today, when she suggested that Felicity spent less time in the foundry, he felt like she was manipulating him. The same way she did when she told him Laurel had called the cops on Tommy's party, in order to keep him away from Sara. He never understood why she chose that moment to tell him that story and he wasn't sure how much of it he actually believed. But that was a small manipulation compared to the way she used him to kill Ivo. Her plan ended up backfiring on her, and played a role in what he assumed was her death, but she still managed to influence him enough to do it. It wasn't his fault Slade walked in before Ivo died, he never thought to sit around to watch the man die. He was dying, that was enough for Oliver, he didn't want to be faced with what he'd done. So today, when she tried to widen the gap between him and the only woman that has ever truly accepted him, and seen the good in him, he wasn't going to be taken in. Even if he didn't mean what he had said, he couldn't imagine having to make another choice over people he cared for, he wanted to be sure she knew he wasn't the same man.

* * *

Wow, thank you guys for the reviews. I am really surprised at the response this received. I know this is a short filler-ish chapter, but I needed to get this part out so I could move the story along. I know a few of you were confused about Oliver & Sara's conversation in cp.1 about Felicity, that's why I added Oliver's POV at the end of this one. Oliver is still at a point where he doesn't know the difference between what he wants and what should make sense. I know a lot of you are not Laurel fans, so an extra thanks for giving this story a shot. Laurel may come off to some as too distrustful in chapter, and to other too accepting. I tried to write her in a way where she's at war with herself but ultimately she knows what she should be doing. Her substance abuse will not go away because she's working with Felicity, nor will Felicity be willing to allow Laurel to get away with shit. This will be mostly an exploration of those two working together, gaining respect for one another, and eventually becoming friends. Yes, there will be sprinklings of Olicity throughout, some chapters more than others. Again, thank you and I hope you enjoy cp.2. For those of you reading COH, I'm half way done with the next cp. It'll be up in the next couple days.


	3. Chapter 3

Laurel wanted to pretend that she felt better after her much needed shower. She took her time combing through the knots in her hair, and shaving her legs in an attempt to feel human again. But when she stepped out of the shower and looked in the mirror, she was met with the same glassy eyes surrounded by dark circles, the hot water didn't help to bring color to her pallor, and her wet hair hung limply, parts of it sticking to her neck. She didn't recognize her reflection any more, she didn't recognize herself.

She wondered what other people saw. Did they notice she was just a shell, that everything that made her ''Laurel'' was gone? She wasn't even sure if the woman she was before Tommy died was real. That Laurel was filled with pain and distrust but she had a purpose, one that she found fulfilling, but even then she wasn't a complete person. How could she be? She never had the chance to deal with her loss because she was too busy trying to dig her father out of his pain. She was so busy trying to put the pieces back together for her him, she forgot that her soul was just as broken. Except there was no Laurel for her, there was no one to piece her back together, she had to do it herself. She thought she did, but now she knew she was wrong. She was slowly falling apart for the past six years. Tommy was a salve for her tattered soul, one that she came to love, but he slowed down the process, he didn't stop it.

She knew the truth. She may never be willing to admit it aloud but she understood where she went wrong. She allowed her anger and sorrow meld together, she couldn't distinguish one from the other. Sara and Oliver, Oliver and Sara, just like her pain they were one. She never allowed herself to mourn them, she couldn't be angry because they were dead. The guilt would set in when she thought of them. All she remembered were her last words to her sister, the one that warned her against Oliver. Well, Sara would've known that Oliver couldn't be trusted, and now Laurel knew that neither could Sara.

Over the years she managed to push those thoughts aside and live her life. The irony that she found comfort in Tommy wasn't lost on her. In a way they both used each other to escape but also to feel closer to those they lost. For the longest time that's all they were.

When it was discovered Oliver was found alive, she couldn't help the small sprig of hope that Sara was out there somewhere too. She should've known better. Seeing Oliver was easier than anticipated, in fact it was helpful. She could direct her hate somewhere, it lessened the guilt over her anger. She was ready to hate him until the day he actually died… but it's true what they say about best laid plans, they always go astray.

It didn't take long for Oliver to worm his way back into her life, he even gave her and Tommy his blessing. He was a changed man, of that she was positive. While Tommy was working to be better, to make something of himself because he wanted to be the man she deserved; Oliver was giving her doubts. This was a chance to have answers to all those questions, this was the time for her to heal. But she didn't. Instead, she held onto Tommy putting everything she had into making a life with him work. For a while it did, she was happy, she had someone she loved and who loved her in return – someone she trusted. When he pulled away claiming he couldn't be with her because she belonged with Oliver, it killed her. Tommy abandoned her, like her mother did when she ran away, like her father did for alcohol, like Oliver did with Sara. She couldn't handle it, so when she went to Oliver thinking he'd help her, she was stunned at his confession.

Oliver stilled loved her and a part of her would always love him. She hated herself for how easily she fell right back into Oliver's web, but fall she did, and in the end she was left disappointed. Oliver would never truly allow her to be a part of his life, not when he was holding onto so many secrets and she didn't want to be with half of a man. No, she wanted to be with Tommy but she had no idea if he'd give her another shot. Her plan was to go to him and come clean about what happened, hoping he'd be able to forgive her and they'd have a second chance. But before she could even consider the thought, she found herself stuck under a large piece of debris at the CNRI office. She was sure she was going to die, she resigned herself to that fact. But then Tommy was there, he saved her, he still loved her; she would have that second chance with him. Or so she thought. Tommy didn't make it out alive and neither did she. Losing him tore apart the fragile stitching that was keeping her together. It was no longer pain and sorrow over Oliver and her sister, it was anguish over them all. When the pain became too much for her to handle she found a way of numbing it. It was through this process that she lost sight of who she was, now she wasn't even sure if the woman she was existed.

Laurel looked at herself again, she knew with some makeup she'd look passable. There was nothing she could do to hide her weight loss, not that she was that eager to. She stopped caring when she realized the people around her were too uncomfortable to really reach out to her. That thought brought her back to the pretty blonde in her living room. She could hear Felicity moving around, cleaning up her mess. She should be embarrassed that someone she barely knew was not only picking up after her, but witnessing what a disaster she allowed her life to become. She wondered what was going through Felicity's head, was she disgusted? Was she only here because she needed help and would she walk away if someone else was willing to believe her? Laurel knew she could change her mind, tell her to leave and just continue on with her life as she has been. But she wouldn't, she wished it was hope that was carrying her on, but it was anger. She wanted to prove everyone wrong, she wanted to be vindicated. Everyone assumed she was losing her mind and she wanted them to see that she wasn't. So she'd help Felicity, but she wouldn't trust her. Nothing good ever came out of trusting someone.

* * *

Felicity threw away the last of the trash and looked around, it was better but the apartment still needed a cleaning. It was enough for now, though. The coffee table was no longer sticky and all of the old food containers and wine bottles have been disposed of. She was tempted to vacuum but she didn't want to overstep, nor did she want to start rummaging through her house looking for a vacuum cleaner.

She couldn't help but wonder how much help Laurel would be. She knew she was having a tough time with things, but she wasn't expecting it to be this bad. Sure, she was wasted at Verdant but most people have a few nights they rather forget. This though, this was different… Laurel had a problem, one that no one seemed to want to acknowledge. This wasn't just a bump in the road, no this was much more. While cleaning she found an empty bottle of Benzodoazepine, it was obvious she was self-medicating along with the drinking. She wondered if Lance and Oliver knew of this. The mixture of the two could result in organ failure, coma, and even death.

She knew Laurel wouldn't be receptive to any type of advice or help from her, but she needed Laurel to be clear minded. Somehow, she would have to keep Laurel clean; this would be the only way they could work together. After Blood was out of the way then she'd try to get her to seek help. She may not have experience with drug or alcohol abuse but she had experience with depression and loneliness, she knew she could help Laurel if she allowed her to.

She heard the bathroom door open and made her way back to the living room. She had pocketed the pill bottle, in order to bring it up. She was feeling nervous now, however, she didn't know Laurel, so she couldn't predict how she'd react.

She saw Laurel walk towards her and she was glad to see that she managed to dress in something other than pajamas, she even managed a little makeup. She wondered when the last time she ate was, maybe she'd suggest grabbing some food after their talk.

"Thanks, for picking up," Laurel said, taking a seat in the couch.

Felicity gave her a big smile, "no problem. I'm kind of a neat freak so I didn't mind. Not that I'm saying you're not neat… it's just that I'm a little OCD about clutter. I mean, your place isn't cluttered it's lovely." She muttered, trying to get her brain to mouth filter working. Laurel didn't seem offended though, she even cracked a small smile.

"Don't worry about it. I'm usually a neat freak too, just been having a bit of a hard time."

"I can only imagine what you've been going through, and I know that you're right about Blood. I think proving that your suspicions about Blood were right, will fix one of your problems." Felicity told her, knowing that it would at least help save her job.

Laurel looked down at her shaky hands, "I think being vindicated will fix just about all of my problems."

Felicity didn't want to get into an argument with Laurel, she didn't want her to think she was attacking her, but she also knew there was no right or easy way to go about it.

"I hope it does, I really do, and I think we'll make a good team. I just… I just need you to promise me something."

Laurel looked up at Felicity, curious at what she'd ask for. "What's that?"

"While we're working together no drinking and no pills, I know you don't know me, and you don't owe me anything, but I really need your help and the way I see it you need mine." She said pulling the pill bottle out of her pocket.

"Where did you get that?" She asked, snatching the bottle from her hand.

"I'm not judging you, Laurel, so please don't think that I am. I found the bottle while I was cleaning up. We may not be friends, we're barely acquaintances, and there were times where you didn't seem all that human to me. But those were my own issues, just like those pills are yours. I don't need to tell you the dangers associated with taking those and drinking because you're a smart woman, and you already know. But I can tell you that I want to help you, and I need your help. Please, I need you to be at your best."

Laurel played with the bottle in her hand. She thought about kicking Felicity out and forgetting the whole thing, she didn't need to take orders from her. Why should she give up the only thing that made her feel better? She wondered what Felicity meant about her not seeming human, what did that even mean? Was she insulting her, did she come off that hateful? She couldn't work with this person if she thought she was heartless.

"What did you mean, I didn't seem human?"

Felicity realized that her wording could sound offensive. "I meant that you seemed so perfect, like nothing could get to you. Honestly, I was a little jealous because everything gets to me and I don't do that great of a job at hiding it."

"Does it make you feel better to see how fucked up I actually am?" Laurel asked without malice but with honest curiosity.

"No. It makes me feel worse. It makes me feel petty, because I allowed myself to feel intimated by you, I never gave a thought to how much you must be hurting. I know what that's like, to be ignored, overlooked because people don't know how to connect with you. I don't like to think that I did that to anyone, regardless of whether or not I knew them."

Laurel was surprised that someone would care so much for strangers, she wondered what it was in Felicity's life that made her want to fix others.

"It's not necessary to put that kind of weight on your shoulders. You shouldn't need to worry about helping or fixing people."

Felicity had heard this argument before from friends but it was just who she was. "I know, but I can't help it. I care. You'd be surprised how much of a difference telling someone that can do."

Laurel was surprised. She wasn't ready to let go of her pain or to trust anyone. But having someone that showed they cared, even a little… helped.

"The only guarantee I can give you is to try and stay clean. I want to… I just don't know if I can," she admitted.

"Well, don't worry. I'm taking a few days off work so we can find some leads, so I'll help you as best as I can. I have to ask, do you have more pills?"

Laurel knew she could lie. Felicity seemed trusting enough to believe her if she told her she didn't but if she found out then she'd never trust her. Instead, Laurel got up and went to her room, removing a full bottle of pills from her jewelry box. She walked back to the living room and handed them to her.

Felicity took the pill bottle, dumbfounded. She assumed Laurel had more pills but she figured she would just lie about it. Common sense told her that Laurel could have more hidden away and this was her way of getting Felicity off her back, but she didn't think so. She felt that Laurel wanted to turn her life around.

Felicity took the pills from her and walked to the bathroom, she felt Laurel follow behind her. She didn't make a show of it, she just emptied the bottle in the toilet and flushed.

"Thank you," She said, turning to Laurel. "I appreciate you trusting me."

Laurel gave her a hesitant smile, "I just hope we can nail down Blood."

"We can and we will, I need you to tell me everything you found out about him. Including the things you didn't tell the Arrow."

* * *

After a couple of hours of digging and going through all of the surveillance video in the psych ward, they came up empty. The cameras were turned off during the time Blood was there visiting his mother, suspicious yes, useful... no. Whoever Blood hired as a hacker did a damn good job, almost as good as Felicity. The only error she could find was at the city archives, the day after Blood killed his mother the video feed was tampered with. Instead of setting the cameras on a loop, they just cut eight minutes from the feed, the time jump was obvious. However, when she checked to see who accessed the archive room that day she came back with only three names: Melissa Paul, James Alexander, and Adam Donner. It was the last name that made them both pause.

"It must be a coincidence," Laurel said, "Adam is one of the most straight lace guys I've met."

Felicity had enough experience from working with Oliver to know most people were not what they seemed. "I know it's hard to swallow and he may have nothing to do with it, but we have to look into him. If he's involved then we need to know how deep into the system Blood can reach. Look, I'm just going to peruse his e-mails and banking records, no one will know I was there."

Laurel didn't want to think that another person had betrayed her, but she had to know if Adam was working against her all along. "Okay, do it. I need to know if he's involved."

Felicity nodded her head in agreement, even though she had every intention of looking into it. It would make sense given Laurel's current situation. She looked into disbarment a little and it was true a lawyer could have their license revoked for substance abuse, as long as it could be proven. However, it wasn't common unless the lawyer actively either broke the law or whose actions were considered moral turpitude. From what she could tell the only law Laurel broke, or at least that they had proof of, was possession of a prescription that wasn't hers. Considering the pills were her fathers she wondered if she could really be disbarred for it.

Looking into Adam's e-mails was pointless, he obviously didn't communicate through his work or personal e-mail accounts. What he did have was plenty of porn site memberships. Getting into his financials was a little trickier. Adam had a few investment accounts, as well as a monthly stipend from a trust. From what she could see he was not hurting for money.

"Well if Adam is working for Blood it's not for money, he has a sizable trust fund." Felicity told Laurel.

"Trust fund? That can't be, he loves to talk about how he paid his own way through college by delivering pizza. He said his father took off when he was young and his mom worked two jobs to pay the bills, unless he was lying about everything I don't know where a trust could come from."

It could be that the guy wanted people to pat him on the back so he came up with that story, but maybe it was true. Felicity looked further into the trust fund account, it seemed that the deposits were less than a year old. Adam Donner was thirty, so it wouldn't be out of the question for his trust to be released at that age and he still managed to put himself through school. If it wasn't for the quarterly deposits of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, she wouldn't think a thing of it. Sure enough, when she tracked where the money from the trust came from it all landed back to Wintergreen.

She looked over to Laurel, who was staring at her computer screen a little confused. "Donner is dirty, he and Blood have been receiving money from Wintergreen."

"Can we prove it?" Laurel asked, knowing that whatever they did it would be outside of the law.

"Not legally, but it's a start. Donner must be using a burner phone there is nothing odd in his phone records or e-mail. I did find an interesting little nugget when digging through his life," she said. "The condo he lives in, he renovated one of the rooms in order to add a safe. It's a top of the line, finger print scanner and digital code secured safe. I can hack it, I just need his thumb print… do you think you can get that?" She hoped Laurel was up to some acting.

She gave Felicity a big smile, "I think I should give Adam a call, see if he wants to grab some lunch. I'd love the opportunity to take him to lunch to apologize and seek his advice." She said, before grabbing her cell off the table and walking away to leave Adam a message.

Felicity took that opportunity to text Oliver and let him know she was taking a few personal days from QC and the Arrow cave. She told him if they needed her help for an emergency she'd pop in.

She and Laurel were going to not only prove that Blood was dirty, they were going to out a mole in the District Attorney's office, and they would get to the bottom of Wintergreen.

* * *

Oliver stared at the message for a moment not knowing how to respond. He didn't mean to anger Felicity, he didn't want to push her away but that's exactly what he did.

"What's wrong?" Sara asked, walking over to him, "You've been staring at your phone for a while now."

"Nothing, Felicity is just asking for a few days off, that's all." He told her, not wanting to get into it again.

"Well, she's earned it. I wasn't trying to drive a wedge between you two Ollie, that wasn't my intention. But I think she needs some space right now and you should give it to her, it's the least you can do. Don't worry she'll be back before you know it." She said, squeezing his shoulder.

Oliver knew Sara was right but that didn't mean he was okay with it. Nonetheless, he told her to take the time she needed. He hoped she gave him a chance to talk things through, he didn't like this distance between them. He missed her when she wasn't around.

* * *

First, let me say thank you for all the reviews. I'm glad you guys are enjoying this fic, even people who don't really care for Laurel. I just wanted to clear something up, Sara is not trying to get between anyone, she's just not well at expressing herself. That's something I feel that is in line with her character, I think her past actions & her current ones prove that. So don't be too angry at her, she and Oliver are on shaky ground because they're very similar people. Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it's a little longer – that was the only complaint I received, that the chapters were too short. For the anon that sent me the tumblr message, I just saw it. I didn't respond to it since I'm updating this now.


	4. Chapter 4

Felicity waited in the car across the street from where Laurel was meeting with Adam. Before she left Laurel's house last night they devised a plan to break into Adam Donner's home safe. All Laurel had to do was get his thumb print and plant a small bug on him, so they could track him throughout the day. Luckily, Oliver was at QC today with Diggle, and Sara wasn't at the foundry. She checked the camera feed before stopping in to collect some supplies.

A part of her didn't like sneaking around and taking equipment without letting Oliver know, it went against everything she stood for. But another part of her knew that he would not be willing to listen to her about Blood. The guilt intensified as she hacked their own feed so no one would know she was there to begin with. However, she was unmoving in her quest to get to the truth. She knew there was something more to all this, something terrible; it was just a feeling at the moment, but she had learned to always trust herself.

After her quick shopping trip at the foundry, she found herself once again at Laurel's. She looked better than she had the night before, there seemed to be a little glint in her eyes. The plan was simple: Laurel would meet Adam at the coffee shop, under the guise of apologizing and seeking advice. Before leaving she'd drop her phone, they both assumed Adam, being a gentleman would pick it up for her, Laurel would then find a reason to touch him, slipping the chip onto his clothing. She was glad Laurel decided to ask him to meet her for coffee instead of lunch as she had suggested. It would make the process much faster for them. The phone Laurel would drop was just a dummy phone. The phone was covered in a thin Liquid silicone, to the touch it didn't feel like more than a screen cover, but once touched the impression left behind couldn't be removed. But it could be cut out and she was hoping it would be good enough to pass the thumb print scanner. They would hit Donner's penthouse once it was confirmed he was back at the District Attorney's office.

Felicity was nervous about what they were attempting, which made no sense to her. She had been in more dangerous situation than this, she's been kidnapped by a mad man, stepped on a landmine, thrown out of one window to just be swung into another, and infiltrated an underground casino; yet, all those times she knew someone was coming for her. If she and Laurel got caught, if she missed anything while hacking all the surveillance, no one would be coming for them. She knew she was being silly, she hacked the feed in Donner's apartment and no one was there. If everything went according to plan they would be in and in out in twenty minutes.

* * *

Laurel tried not to grimace as Adam pointed out all of her faults. Even though she invited him for coffee under the guise of wanting advice, she didn't expect him to take it so seriously. From the things he was saying it sounded like he wanted to help her, but she knew that was far from the truth. She just wanted to get this over with so she and Felicity could get on with their plans.

"You okay," Adam asked, with concern.

She gave him a hesitant smile, "yeah, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about everything you said. It's just a little overwhelming… I, uh, I never thought I'd be in this position."

Adam looked down at his watch, before saying, "you're a strong woman. You will figure out a way to get past this. Look, Laurel, I'd love to spend some more time with talking about this with you but I have to get back to the office." He said, standing up and grabbing his jacket off if his chair.

Laurel stood up with him and reached for her handbag, tipping it over. The only item that fell out was the phone Felicity gave her. She watched as it fell underneath the table and silently prayed he'd be a gentleman and pick it up for her.

Almost immediately, Adam ducked down to retrieve it for her. He stood back up and handed it to her, "here you go."

"Thank you," She said, moving a little closer to him. "I don't have many people I can talk to, I appreciate your help," she told him reaching out to give him a small hug. Luckily, he didn't recoil and she was able to slip the bug on his suit jacket.

"Anytime, call me if you need any more advice."

Stepping back from him and putting on her coat, "Thank you, I will."

She watched as he walked away, giving him a moment to get far enough from the coffee shop. She didn't want to risk him seeing her get into the car Felicity was currently waiting in. After a few minutes she walked across the street and got into her car.

* * *

"Did it work," Felicity asked.

"It sure did," she said reaching into her handbag to get the phone. "His thumb was right on the screen; I made sure not to touch it there."

"Great," Felicity said, taking the phone from Laurel. She pulled out a pair of tweezers from her bag and took off the film cover the screen. "I'll cut it down when we're at Donner's," she told Laurel as she put the film into a small plastic box.

"Are we ready to go, do we have everything we need?" Laurel asked, wanting to get on with things.

"Hold on," Felicity muttered, looking down at her tablet. Laurel saw a red dot appear on the city map, "Yep, we're good. Let's go break into Donner's penthouse."

"You know, you probably shouldn't say those things aloud," Laurel told her pulling onto the street, slightly amused.

"I already checked your car for bugs," Felicity informed her.

Laurel looked surprised at her statement, "you think Adam would bug me?"

"At this point, anything is possible, but don't worry I scanned your house too before I came to see you."

"How did you do that?" Laurel wondered where Felicity picked up the knowledge to do these things. It was obvious that many of her hobbies were out of the IT scope.

"I scanned to see if there were any unknown frequencies, and when you were showering I ran a quick program that would pick up any live feeds. It all came up clean so we're safe."

"Okay… Thanks," Laurel said, discomforted with the thought of people watching her.

Laurel parked down the street from Donner's building and put on the cap Felicity handed her. They were going to walk into the underground garage and access the private elevators there. Felicity would run the security camera in the garage and elevator for a loop for five minutes, it would be just enough time to get through the garage and up to Adam's floor. She would then repeat the same process to leave.

They walked quickly through the parking garage and to the elevators.

"Shit," Laurel said, "you need an access card." This was not something that came up when they talked about this.

"Sorry, I knew I forgot to mention something," Felicity said, taking a card out of her pocket and swiping it.

Laurel followed her into the elevator, "really? That was kind of a big detail."

"I know," Felicity answered, not looking up from her tablet. She had seconds to run the cameras in the hallway on a loop. "I've had a lot on my mind, next time I won't forget."

Laurel crossed her arms, "fine." She knew it was just an oversight but she couldn't help but feel frustrated about not having all of the information.

"Are you sure you can pick his locks?" Felicity asked.

"As long as they're the locks you told me, it shouldn't be a problem."

Felicity tried not to roll her eyes at her tone; emotions were high for both of them. The elevator opened on Donner's floor, luckily there was only one more apartment besides his on this level. Once they made sure the hallway was clear, Laurel pulled what looked like a pocket knife out of her jacket pocket. Instead of a knife, there were several lock picks. She wondered why someone like Laurel would own a lock pick set, or how she knew how to pick a lock. She wasn't sure that she comfortable enough with her to ask, just like Laurel wasn't comfortable enough with her to ask about her hacking.

It took less than a minute to break in but it felt like forever, Laurel's heart was racing a bit and her hands were not steady. She didn't know if that was because of her nerves or the fact that she hadn't had a drink today.

She opened the door and Felicity followed her into the apartment, "wow, will you teach me how to do that?" She asked, without thinking.

Laurel shut the door behind them making sure to lock it, "sure."

Felicity dug out to set of gloves from her back pack, "here," she handed a set to Laurel. "We need to make sure to wipe down the door knob before leaving.''

Laurel put the gloves on while Felicity fiddled with her tablet. "Cameras in the hallway are back on, so we should be able to see if anyone is coming and… cameras in Donner's office are now looping the same image."

"Great, let's get this over with," Laurel said, not wanting to waste a moment. She briefly looked around Adam's apartment, though he was living large, it was very sterile. She didn't want to even risk touching anything.

Once in the office, Felicity pointed to the wall to the left of the desk, it should be there.

"How original, behind a painting," Laurel muttered, walking over to the artwork and taking it down.

Felicity placed a few things down on Donner's desk gently. She didn't want to disturb anything on the surface, not even a paper. The desk need to be exactly as it was before they entered, so if Donner looked through the surveillance there would be no discrepancy.

Laurel watched as Felicity opened the panel next to the safe and attached what looked like tiny jumper cables, those cables were attached to a small device that looked like a cell phone. After a couple of minutes eight numbers showed up on the screen.

"Okay," Felicity said to herself, "we got the code now we need the thumb."

She took out the case that held the finger print, and used a tiny exacto knife to cut around it.

Felicity's adrenaline was high, a part of her was nervous because they still needed to get out without being seen, but another part of her was pure excitement. She wondered if this how Oliver and Sara felt sometimes, when they were out fighting crime. "The moment of truth," she said, giving Laurel a small smile.

She placed the silicone thumb print over her own and pressed down on the scanner, a second later she was prompted for the security code. She heard the door click after entering the code.

Laurel looked into the safe over Felicity's shoulder, "be careful," she said as felicity took out a cell phone. "We have to remember to put it back where it was."

"I can't turn it on. I don't know of its being monitored or if it has a tracker that is activated when the phone is powered." She handed Laurel the phone and reached into her bag for a small screw driver. She took the phone back and began to open it.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't put a bug on the outside of the phone without him noticing, so I'm putting in inside. Don't worry he'll never notice."

Laurel looked through the safe as Felicity did her thing. So far nothing stood out, the safe held his birth certificate and social security card, a few watches, and a small stack of money – but not a large enough amount to be suspicious. She took care to place everything back in its proper place. She noticed a gray file folder towards the back and reached in trying not to disturb anything.

"Felicity," she called not taking her eyes off the file.

"Just give me a second, I have the phone almost sealed," she said from her spot on the floor, concentrating on closing the smartphone while not leaving a single scratch.

"Felicity, Adam has been watching us." Laurel said, almost in a whisper.

That got Felicity's attention and she stood back up to take a look at the file in Laurel's hand. Sure enough it was filled with photos, not just of Laurel and Felicity but of Moira, Thea, Oliver, Diggle, and Detective Lance.

"Why would Donner be watching all of us?" Laurel asked, feeling scared and uncertain for the first time. Did he have something to do with her kidnapping? She never told anyone, but the man in the mask was a reoccurring character in her nightmares.

"I … I don't know. Some of these are outside of my apartment building." Felicity told her, clearly surprised to see photos of herself, when she was off the clock. "I don't know why they'd be following me or Diggle. This must have something to do with either Oliver or Queen Consolidated."

"Well, Adam wasn't happy that Moira got off scott-free. It would make sense if he were trying to bring her down somehow; I just don't know how Blood factors into the equation."

It would make sense, State vs Queen Case was one of the biggest Starling had ever seen. She could see how Donner would be upset his team lost, but it didn't add up. "No, this isn't about Moira. If it was they'd have no reason to follow me or Diggle, neither of us interacts with her much. All of these people are important to Oliver."

"I get that… but it still doesn't make sense. Oliver is one of Blood's biggest backers – he wouldn't do anything that would affect that relationship. At least not right now, once he's elected that's a different story."

"I have no idea what's going on, but I think we need to learn more about Wintergreen Corp. That is the only thing connecting Donner to Blood right now."

"Donner and Blood might not even be connected; they may just be pawns of something much bigger." Laurel said, "And whoever is pulling their strings has several resources at their disposal."

"I agree," she said placing the phone back in the safe where she found it. "Let me just add this chip to the back of his computer and we're good to go."

"Great, because I'm starting to get real creepy feelings being here. I took a photo of the file content with my phone, just in case." Laurel told her, wishing she could just take the entire file.

"Oh, good idea, I should have thought of that." Felicity took a quick look at her tablet, "Donner is still at work so we should be fine."

Felicity waited for Laurel to put the file back and closed the safe. Once the painting was back up Felicity gathered her tablet and bag and gave his office a once over.

"I think we did well," she told Laurel, "now let's get the hell out of here."

Felicity followed Laurel to the door, and was happy to find her wiping down the knob with her shirt.

"Okay, we're clear but you need to work fast," Felicity said.

For some reason having to lock the door felt more stressful than picking it, but she worked as quickly as she could. When she heard the subtle click of the lock she let out the breath she had been holding in. She took the same care in wiping down the lock as she did with the inside knob.

"Okay, Felicity, let's get out of here, please."

Felicity swiped the access card for the elevator, and changed the hallway cameras back on once they were safely inside. She double checked the garage and everything seemed clear.

When they reached the garage level, both women felt like a weight had been lifted off of their shoulders and both were eager to discuss their findings somewhere safe. Neither of the women noticed the police car parked across the street from the building.

* * *

They had decided it was best to just got back to Laurel's since they knew it was free of bugs. Also, Laurel lived further away from QC and Verdant than Felicity did. She was uploading the photos Laurel took onto her computer so she could delete them from Laurel's phone.

"So…" Laurel began, "how do we go about learning who is behind Wintergreen? I thought about using some of the government information I still have access to, but I figured you would be appalled if I tried."

"Appalled is right," Felicity chuckled, "I'm pretty sure I've hacked all of those sites already, but more importantly we don't leave a trail. You signing in would have done that, so it was smart not to."

"Okay, but every company has a trail of some sort, why can't we find this one?" She asked, feeling drained after their little mission.

Felicity wasn't feeling too confident in her abilities, she wondered the same thing. "I don't know, whoever they hired to cover their tracks is good. Really good."

"But not good enough," Laurel said, leaning forward in her seat. "If they were that good you would've never found a trail to them to begin with. That means that you're better, maybe you just need to look at things in a different way." She suggested, "Look, I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job because I don't have the first clue about hacking. But there is a reason you're the one that came this far, no one else, not even the Arrow got as far as you did."

Hearing that made Felicity smile, it was nice to hear that she was useful. "Well, I wouldn't have ever looked if you didn't have your suspicions… so I guess this really has been a joint ventured even before we realized it."

If they had wine they'd toast Laurel thought, but she knew alcohol of any kind would be out of the question, at least when Felicity was around.

Both women jumped when they heard a knock on Laurel's door. Felicity quickly closed out the program she was running and closed her laptop. She took her backpack that held her equipment, and shoved it under the coffee table.

Once everything was clear Laurel walked over to see who was at the door.

Felicity was silently hoping that today would not be the day Oliver or Sara decided to make peace with Laurel. There would be no explanation she could give them that they wouldn't see through.

Laurel was surprised to see her father standing on the other side of the door. They weren't on the best of terms lately but she made it a point to talk to him earlier today so he wouldn't interrupt her.

"Dad… what are you doing here?" she asked, still standing at the doorway not sure she wanted to let him inside.

"It's a funny story actually," Lance started saying, "I followed you and Felicity here." He told her making her move aside so he could enter.

"You followed us?" Laurel asked, slamming the door a little when she closed it. "I don't know where you get off following me around like a little girl, but I am entitled to my own privacy."

"Don't you say," he said walking to the living room. "Ms. Smoak, always a pleasure to see you."

"Det- Detective Lance, what are you doing here? I mean, this is your daughter's house, it would make sense you visiting sometimes… regardless it's not my house so I should be asking why you're here." She started counting in her head in an attempt to control her mouth.

"I think we all need to have a little chat about what you've been doing today," he told them seating himself.

* * *

Sorry for the wait. Hope you enjoy this chapter, it feels a little choppy but I just can't seem to fix it. Thank you guys for the amazing response to this story, I'm glad so many of you are enjoying Laurel and Felicity working together.


	5. Chapter 5

Laurel and Felicity shared a look; they never discussed a cover story for what they were doing. Felicity figured Laurel would take the lead with Lance and she'd just follow along.

"Okay, well now that you've made yourself comfortable," Laurel said taking a seat on the couch. "Why don't you tell me why you're following me around?"

"I'd love to Laurel, but first I'd like to know what you two were getting into today." He said crossing his arms.

"No," Laurel sighed, balling her fist. "I am not a child, you don't get to come to my house and question me."

"You may not be a child but you're still my daughter," he said, exasperated with her. "I am looking out for you Laurel, you've got enough shit going on. What were you doing at that apartment building today?" He asked, before turning his attention to Felicity.

"And you," pointing at Felicity, "Since when are you and Laurel friends, huh? Have you two even met before?"

Felicity didn't want to get caught in the middle of a family argument, but Lance's presence was preventing them from their purpose. And she was ready for him to leave.

"I've met Laurel a few times… at event mostly, Oliver introduced us." She told him hoping he'd drop it.

"Your turn," Laurel cut in before her father could interrogate them. "Why were you following me?"

"Well, I came by yesterday to make sure you were ok. I was down the hall when I heard people speaking in whispers." Cutting his eyes at both of them, "When I got to your hallway and took a peek to see who it was, I was surprised to see Felicity. At first, I figured she was doing something for Oliver, but when you invited her in and she didn't leave for hours, I knew something was up."

"So your first inclination is to follow me like a criminal?" Laurel asked, raising her voice.

Felicity was extremely uncomfortable, she felt like she shouldn't be included in this conversation.

"Maybe I should come by later, so you two can talk." She suggested, getting up from the couch.

"Sit down, ." Lance demanded, his tone compelled Felicity to do as he said. "Neither of you are going anywhere until I get some answers." He told her standing up.

"Now," he began, "what are you trouble makers up to?"

"Trouble makers?" Felicity repeated, "umm… I think you have the wrong idea." She said sweetly giving him a small smile.

"Oh, that's not going to work, sweetheart. I raised two girls, I know when they're playing me. Especially you, is a hobby I don't partake in."

"Hey, it's not like I could've told you the truth," she said. "You wanted to have me arrested."

"It was never about arresting you. I just wanted to catch the vigilante." He told her frustrated that the conversation had changed direction.

"Well, and now you work with him… so you should be thankful I lied."

Lance ran his hands over his face, "I feel for your father, you must have been a handful."

"He didn't have it too bad, he left when I was six." She muttered.

"Ok, enough," Laurel interrupted. "Dad I don't have time for this. Felicity is helping me find a new job."

Lance felt bad for his little outburst, he hoped he didn't hurt Felicity's feelings.

"Laurel, if all you guys are doing is job hunting then why were you at the building Donner lives, after having coffee with him?" He asked, "yeah, that's right, I ran a search on the address." He said at her confusion.

Felicity nudged Laurel to get her attention, "can we talk for a moment, privately."

Laurel nodded her head and told Felicity to follow her, "We'll be right back ."

Once in the room Felicity closed the door behind her. "I think we should tell him," she told Laurel.

"What? Why would we tell him, he didn't believe me the first time." She argued.

"Yeah, but this time we have proof. Let's face it, he's not going to stop following us or asking questions. If we tell him now and swear him to secrecy, maybe we can prevent him from telling you know who."

"But then he's going to want to be involved," she explained. "Haven't you noticed he treats me like a child."

"I don't think we have a choice," she reasoned. "We don't have enough to go back to the Arrow, but we have enough to get your dad on our side."

Letting out a frustrated breath, Laurel agreed. "Fine, let's go tell him."

* * *

Lance wasn't amused at being left in the living room while the two women probably concocted a lie. He was going to figure out what was going on if it killed him, his daughter was in no place to be getting into more trouble.

He looked at the two women expectedly when they walked back into the room. Laurel took a seat on the sofa again, while Felicity set up a laptop on the table.

"So, we've decided to tell you the truth," Felicity explained.

"Well, don't I feel special," he scoffed. "Let's hear it then."

Looking back at Laurel, "maybe you should start," Felicity suggested.

"I think he should hear it from you, since you're the one that came to me. Besides, he probably wouldn't believe me anyway." Laurel challenged.

Felicity didn't enjoy being put on the spot but if the way Lance was clenching his jaw was any indication, he was about to lose his patience.

"Okay… So I've been keep track of Sebastien Blood, you know, just in case. Well, I discovered and exchange of money that seemed suspicious, so I came to Laurel because you know who, wouldn't listen to me."

"Jesus Christ," Lance muttered, "not this again."

Laurel scoffed at her father's reaction, "figures." Looking over to Felicity, "I told you he wouldn't be interested, he already made up his mind."

"Well, excuse me for not wanting my daughter to go down the same path twice; we've already been through this. Laurel, Blood has already been cleared of your suspicions."

"Detective Lance, if I may just cut in for a moment." Felicity interrupted, "We've worked together, and you've trusted me in the past. Isn't that enough to at least warrant that you hear me out?" She asked.

Lance sighed and plopped himself down in the chair. "Fine. But the moment this gets ridiculous I'm putting an end to it."

Felicity went through everything she found, including what they had on Donner. She assumed that Laurel would butt in at times, but the woman remained quiet. She didn't feel comfortable with the amount of tension in the room but leaving wasn't an option. They needed to at least get Lance to agree to keep things to himself until they had something more concrete.

She knew the older man was concerned for his daughter and she could see where he was coming from. But he seemed to share a common trait with Oliver: stubbornness. Both men were so content with the knowledge that Officer Daly was the man behind the mask that they never stopped to consider the possibility that he was a part of something much larger. Something that Laurel began to uncover, only to be shut down and told she was wrong.

Felicity wondered what it would be like to have a father that cared for you, even if he was overbearing. She knew that both Laurel and Lance had been through their fair share of tragedy, but they were lucky to have each other.

In the end, it didn't take long to walk him through all of the data they had compiled against Blood, Donner, and Wintergreen.

"So how are we going to find out who the person behind Wintergreen is?" Lance asked, not fully on board but unable to ignore what they had discovered.

Laurel was surprised at her father's question. She really believed he wouldn't be interested of supportive of what they were doing. She was a little annoyed that it took teaming up with Felicity for him to take her seriously.

"We," Laurel asked her father, not sure she wanted him that involved.

"Yes, we. I'm going to assume that out mutual friend isn't involved for a reason." He said, pointedly at Felicity. "Also, I don't want to know why. The less I know the better, however, if you two think you're going to do this alone, without any kind of back up then you're both nuts. This is dangerous, Blood and Donner are figure heads in Starling, and I'm sure whoever is financing them is a much larger threat."

"So because we're women we need your protection," Laurel scoffed. "Please, I can take care of myself."

"It's not because you're women. It's because whoever this guy is, he had a way of making super soldiers; or did you forget one of them put me in the hospital and killed my partner?"

"So…" Felicity started, "does that mean you're going to help?"

"It means that I want you to explain to me what your plan is. What were you going to do with the information once you have it all?"

"Well, we considered sending it to the cops anonymously but there's always a chance of there being another mole. The other option was to take it back to _him_ once I had enough evidence to make my case."

"So what's the next step?" He asked, wondering how much they actually planned out.

Laurel and Felicity looked at each other knowing the next step would be the worst.

"We wait," Laurel began, "we bugged his burner phone. Now we just have to wait for him to use it." She explained.

* * *

It was later in the evening when both Felicity and Lance left. They spent the rest of the afternoon going through everything they had with a fine tooth comb. Wintergreen had managed to cover its tracks well, giving them very little to work with. Felicity said she was running searches through international channels, hoping that they'd come across any crumb that would help them.

Her father for the most part had more questions than he was helpful. He agreed to keep their search to himself, for the time being, so long as nothing escaladed to dangerous territory. Having him at her house for hours was stressful, she felt like he was scrutinizing every move she made.

That's how she found herself at the store at 9 p.m. It was just to take the edge off, she told herself repeatedly. No one would be the wiser; it would be the last time. But that single bottle of wine didn't have the desired effect, she was still angry, still hurt by her father's disregard. So she took a walk to the bar down the street, she was clear enough not to drive, and she was old enough to hold her liqueur.

She only need a few more drinks, just enough to help her sleep. When she flushed the pills, she flushed all of them, and without them she found herself lying awake at night staring at the ceiling. She couldn't handle the thoughts anymore, she just wanted to put her mind at ease.

The bartender cut her off after four drinks – she was angry. It was fine, she'd call herself a cab and go somewhere else, somewhere they'd serve her. But when she stood up from the bar stool, her center of gravity shifted and she found herself on the floor.

The bartender rushed over to her and helped her back into her seat. She didn't protest when he opened up her clutch and removed her cellphone.

"Who can I call to come get you, sweetheart?" He asked, hoping she was clear enough to understand.

"Everyone… but – but not my dad," she slurred, putting her head down on her arms.

Pulling up her most recent contacts, he decided on the first person on the list.

Felicity made her way through the pub, that was mostly empty aside a few people at the bar. She could see Laurel at the far end of it slumped over, she seemed to be sleeping. Nudging her gently, she got no reaction. She shoved a little harder and Laurel's head sprung up.

"What're you doing here?"

"I got a call from your phone to come pick you up. Do you remember how much you drank?" She asked the smell of alcohol heavy on Laurel's breath.

"Only a couple, I'm good, going home now."

Felicity waved over the bartender, "does she have a tab? Also, can you please tell me how much she had to drink, I need to decide whether or not she's going to need a hospital." She asked him.

"She's all paid up and I only served her four drinks. Though, I doubt this was her first stop, she seemed real happy when she got here." He told her jokingly.

"Is this funny to you? If she seemed drunk you shouldn't have served her, or you should have at least cut her off earlier. You do realize that's part of your job description don't you?"

"Look lady, I serve drinks, listen to people's problems and go home. That's my job, being a babysitter ain't."

Felicity shook her head as he walked away. Luckily, she was parked right out front so it wouldn't be a long walk for them.

Laurel had placed her head back down onto her arms.

"Laurel, can you walk? Come on, we need to get you home." She told her, grabbing the clutch off the bar and tucking it into her handbag. She helped Laurel straighten herself out, wrapping one of her arms around the taller woman's waist and pulling her arm over her shoulders. It took them a while to get to her mini, and getting Laurel into the car was a challenge.

Once they were both inside, Felicity had to ask, "how much have you had to drink tonight?"

"Just a little bit," Laurel answered.

"Laurel, I need you to tell me the truth or I'm going to assume you drank enough to warrant a trip to the ER."

"No! No hospital."

Felicity wasn't sure what to do, she didn't think four drinks deserved a stop at the ER, but she had no idea how much Laurel had to drink beforehand.

She decided that she'd take Laurel home and see if she could make her drink some fluids and maybe coffee, if she didn't sober up then she'd force her to go to the hospital.

Right as she was parking outside Laurel's building her hears Laurel murmur. "I don't feel too good."

She was lucky to have made out of her car and to the passenger's side fast enough for Laurel to be sick on the pavement and not her leather. Felicity never had a strong stomach for sickness, it was one of the reasons she never dreamed of studying medicine.

Once Laurel was finished being sick, she helped her wobble her way back into her apartment. It was there she saw an empty bottle of wine and decided that instead of taking Laurel to the hospital, she'd stick around and make sure she was ok. Getting the woman out of her heels and jacket was an ordeal, one she was not going to attempt with her clothing. The pants and shirt looked comfortable enough to sleep in. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and made Laurel drink it, she set the wastebasket from the bathroom next to her bed and turn her onto her side.

This was not the relaxing evening she had originally envisioned. This was not something she thought she'd ever be doing for Laurel, who broke her promise to stay clean while they worked together. Maybe this was her fault, maybe Laurel wasn't ready for this. She obviously had demons she needed to deal with and Felicity shouldn't have added more to her plate.

"Felicity," Laurel whispered almost incoherently, reaching out for her.

Felicity sat on the edge of the bed and hesitantly placed a hand on her arm. "I'm here, do you need anything?"

"I'm tired," she said, her voice breaking up. "So so tired…"

"So rest," she told her.

"No... Tired - tired of being alone, everybody leaves me behind." She said, her eyes closing.

"You're not alone," Felicity said, though she knew Laurel was already asleep. She covered her with the throw on at the end of her bed and grabbed a pillow, to make herself comfortable on the couch.

* * *

So… just because the show is going to have Laurel get over her addiction like it never happened, I plan on taking a more realistic approach. Laurel will take steps to her recovery; however, it will be because she's ready. I don't like how they made her recovery about Oliver, or because of Oliver. If anything I feel like his speech would have done more harm than good, but what do I know. So one thing I guarantee, is that her road to bettering herself and conquering her problem will be her own, and not due to someone else. I know some of you really want more action, and we will get there but certain things need to happen first. Thank you guys for all of your lovely reviews and I'm glad you're enjoying this. For those of your reading COH, I should have the next part up this week.


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